Caesar Salad with Shiitake Mushrooms

Sep 3, 2008

Order a Caesar salad at a restaurant these days, and it's likely to be a whole meal, topped with chicken or shrimp. We choose meaty shiitake mushrooms here and also make another break from tradition: The eggs in the dressing are cooked, not raw.

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Ingredients

Yields:
4

8 tbsp.
olive oil

1/2 lb.
sourdough baguette

3/4 tsp.
salt

3/4 tsp.
fresh-ground black pepper

4
clove garlic

1 tbsp.
Cooking oil

3/4 lb.
shiitake mushrooms

1/2 c.
chopped fresh parsley

2
hard-cooked eggs

3 tbsp.
Wine vinegar

2
small heads romaine lettuce (about 1 pound each)

1/4 c.
grated Parmesan

Directions

In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderate heat. Add the cubed bread, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and stir to coat the bread with the oil. Sauté the bread until crisp and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in half the
garlic. Transfer to a large salad bowl.

In the same pan, heat the cooking oil over moderately high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add half the remaining garlic and the parsley and cook, stirring, for 1 minute longer. Add the
mushrooms to the croutons.

Put the eggs, vinegar, remaining garlic, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a blender or food processor and whir until smooth. Add the lettuce to the mushrooms and croutons, sprinkle with Parmesan, and then add the dressing. Toss to coat.

Wine Recommendation: Because sparkling wines have surprisingly high acidity,a nonvintage brut Champagne will go well with this salad, matching the vinegar in the dressing and cutting the Parmesan's richness.

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